The
meeting commenced by approving the minutes of the last meeting, subject to two
amendments, and approving the financial policy paper discussed at the previous
meeting. It was noted that the requirement to approve the striking off of
previous authorized signatories on the congregational accounts and the addition
of new ones had been approved at the Va'ad Menahel meeting last October.

The
meeting then reviewed recent events. Thanks were expressed to Yitzhak Avigad
and Ralph Amelan for the arrangements on Purim. The volunteers list for the
festival had been updated and filed with Miriam for next year. More money had
been donated to the Kupat Tzedaka this Purim. Questions were raised about the
crowding at the 3rd reading of the Megilla in Mercaz Dov, and it was
suggested to hold it elsewhere next year.

New
rules at Bank Hapoalim for depositing checks for the Kupat Tzedaka had caused
difficulties for Miriam, who had had to stand in line for an hour and a half to
do so. It was suggested that those responsible for the Kupat Tzedaka provide
volunteers for the task to save Miriam's time, and it was hoped that the bank
would provide a less time-consuming method for depositing checks soon. Mark
Nulman would look into the advantages, if any, conferred by using PayPal.

The
Bazaar had raised a record NIS 10,000, and thanked Noomi Stahl for all her
efforts in making it a success. However, there had been inadequate provision
for volunteers to clear up afterwards, and this needed to be put right next
year.

As
far as Pesach was concerned, the catering arrangements for Shabbat Hagadol had
been put in place a little late. This should be remedied next year, when Pesach
was due to fall on Monday night and therefore demand for the Shabbat HaGadol
meals would be higher. This year there would be a Kiddush on the first day of
the festival, as opposed to previous years: there may be problems with readers.
The parochet would be switched for the Omer period.

The
Erev Yom Hashoah event, organized by David Silberklang, would be a discussion
about school trips to Poland as an educational tool for the Shoah. Ronen was in
charge for Memorial Day and Independence Day: Uriel Simon would be the speaker,
and the kids' choir was busy with rehearsals. It was not clear who the point
person would be for Shavuot: Kobi was taking care of the tikkun. Bnei Akiva
were not being hosted this year.

Shoshana
Baumgarten then gave a slide presentation of the various measures open to the
Kehilla to improve the acoustics, developed as a result of meetings with
acoustic engineers.

The
first was to peel away part of the acoustic sponge downstairs over the area
where tefillot were held, which should improve acoustics there for all purposes
and help to return and amplify the voice of the chazan: as it was, the
classical quintet that played in the event organized by Haim Watzman in memory
of his father enjoyed excellent acoustics. Books baffle the sound and absorb
it.

This
would not resolve problems with noise from the sides of the space and the
passages downstairs. The second measure was to treat the ceiling in the
passages by the coats and the kitchen to absorb sound in these areas: the walls
there might require treating later. There was a discussion about the lighting
in these areas, and the possibility of using LED lights there.

Sounds
from the stairs leading to the women's side of the sanctuary disturbed prayers
there. Special sound absorbent paint and other measures to treat the walls were
required.

Two
acoustic doors were needed to replace existing doors downstairs by the library
shelves and in front of the stairs leading to the women's side of the
sanctuary.

Returning
to the problem of noise from the sides of the space downstairs near the benches
by the window and the amphi would also require treatment, likely using an
acoustic wood baffle.

The
worst problem, though were on the side of the downstairs hall by the stairs and
former office on one side and the ramp on the other. These sections would have
to be closed off. Sliding doors were out because of the need to install a rail
in the floor and the space taken by the housing required by the folded doors.

There
were only two options, both expensive. The first was a fixed, double-glazed
wall system with doors opening in them, which would cut down the space
available for Kiddush and tefilot. Stickers would be needed to be placed on the
glass to avoid accidents.

The
second was a glass panel system that would fold as required, similar to the
system already in place to divide the downstairs hall. An overhead rail would
be required, and the ventilation position would have to be looked into.

The
fate of the site next to the Kehilla building was discussed. It had recently
been fenced off without warning, and the city had begun preparing the ground
for the construction of three gamin. The Kehilla was working with the Minhal
Kehilati and was recognized as having standing in the dispute, which centered
on the fact that the city had gone ahead with construction without consulting
the Kehilla or other neighbors or checking local conditions, and on the
positioning of the new buildings: they were going to be too close to the
Kehilla building. Marc Render and Yuval Bar were representing Yedidya in the
matter. Currently, excavations were continuing, and the city was permitted to
do this: they had to comply with a new law requiring them to construct extra
ganim.

Yossi
Silverman was doing event supervision when Miriam could not, and Yaacov Young
was in charge of Shabbat set up. When he was not there, Michael Stahl and Dani Kahn
were back-ups. There were negotiations in progress with two cleaning firms: one
looked very promising, and the numbers were now being sorted by the Personnel
Committee: the firms give receipts. In a discussion, it was noted that the
cleaners had never been within the remit of any particular committee, not even
the House Committee (which needed more volunteers), and Eudice had been in
charge of them. It was suggested that the office (Miriam) have responsibility
and the budget for them. 'Filler' cleaning work would still be done by kids,
mainly on Erev and Motzai Shabbat and at special events.

The
level of air-conditioning was discussed and it was noted that the variable
temperatures of spring created difficulties when setting temperature levels. It
was suggested to try to have it come on an hour or so before Shabbat,
especially near the ramp where the afternoon sun caused it to be hot in that
area, and a little earlier in the morning now that temperatures were rising.

The
AGM was due at the end of June: we needed a VM point person for the AGM.
Yitzhak Avigad was leaving the VM after serving two years. With regard to new
Yoshvei Rosh, it was suggested that there be provision for them 'shadowing' the
existing Yoshvei Rosh for a while: it was important that they spent time
learning the ropes from the people with current experience of the post.

The
drainage project for Mercaz Dov was nearly concluded.

A
question arose about committees which do not make decisions in time. A
mechanism was needed whereby, in extreme cases, the Va'ad Menahel take these
decisions. Committees should supply to the Va'ad the name of the head of the
committee, who else is on the committee, how many people they need on the
committee, the criteria for being on the committee, and who decides who will be
on the committee. The Va'ad needs to be in dialog with the committees.

The
continuing problem of events that occur between Va'ad meetings which were not
reflected in email or other records was raised, and the meeting was reminded of
the need of Va'ad members to keep each other informed of these events. Some
things could be taken care of via announcements between meetings.